It seems appropriate to explore the world of chocolate during the month of Valentine’s Day, the wid-winter celebration of love. Some believe that chocolate is a natural aphrodisiac — however there is little scientific evidence to back this up. Whether or not you believe that chocolate is an aphrodisiac or not, many can not argue with the fact that chocolate, particularly good chocolate holds a special place in our hearts.

Over the course of many years we at Glutenfreeda.com have tasted many different kinds of chocolate…some absolutely divine and others leaving something to be desired. It is clearly evident that the outcome of a recipe is greatly influenced by the quality of chocolate used. An added advantage (other than taste, of course), of using premium chocolate in your baking is that most premium chocolate use pure ingredients, avoiding possible gluten contamination. This month we’d like to highlight three of our favorites so that you, too, can enjoy the best of the best.

Scharffen Berger Chocolate — Score 5 (Rated 1-5, 5 being the best)

Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker is an American made chocolate manufactured in San Francisco, California. Scharffen Berger chocolates are by far our favorite chocolate. The quality and rich flavors of their chocolate products are a reflection of the care they take in selecting the highest quality ingredients. The dark chocolate is composed of cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter and very small amounts of vanilla and lecithin. They use only cacoa beans that undergo thorough fermentation. This process takes more time and effort on the part of the growers (resulting in a higher priced chocolate), however without fermentation cacao beans develop little flavor. Scharffen Berger also uses whole vanilla beans from Tahiti and Madagascar, a rare practice in the world of commercially produced chocolate. They also make chocolate in small batches giving them the ability to pay personal attention to detail and ultimately ending up with a superior product.

Scharffen Berger clearly states that there is no gluten in their chocolate. Their ingredients — cacao beans, sugar, vanilla bean, cocoa butter and soy lecithin — cannot and do not produce gluten. They also do not have any cereal grain or corn present anywhere in their manufacturing facility at any time. Unfortunately they cannot guarantee that all of their products are completely nut and dairy free. Their manufacturing facility is completely free of nuts and dairy. However, some of their products are wrapped off-site. The machinery used to wrap some of their products is also used to wrap other products which contain nuts and/or dairy. While these machines are cleaned before their products are wrapped, they cannot guarantee that their will not be a trace amount of nuts and/or dairy in their products. If diary or nuts is a concern, try the 9.7 oz. Home Chef Bar or a larger size. These bars are made and wrapped in-house and therefore are 100% nut and dairy free. Additionally, their cocoa powder is also dairy & nut free.

Scharffen Berger is available in some specialty food stores or well-stocked grocery stores. You can also purchase Scharffen Berger products at www.scharffenberger.com. Average cost for a 9.7oz. bar is $7.95 US.

Valrhona Gastronomie — Score 4-1/2

Valrhona is also an awesome chocolate. This wonderful chocolate comes from the famous French Chocolatier in Tain-l’Hermitage near Lyon and Rhone river. Valrhona is recognized by leading chefs and enthusiasts throughout the world as one of the finest chocolates manufactured today. It has a well-rounded, powerful, slightly bitter taste which shines in confections and desserts. It is very smooth and velvety with a slight floral taste. Both Scharffen Berger and Valrhona are best used when chocolate is the ultimate star in the recipe (ie., brownies, fondue, chocolate cakes, truffles, etc.). Valrhona also is very strict in its specifications from it’s partner plantations as well as their own plantations to ensure proper fermentation and quality of the cacao beans harvested.

Valrhona products can be purchased at Williams Sonoma, some fine specialty food shops and also at www.valrhona.com. Average cost for an 8.8oz. is about $9.50US.

Lindt Chocolates — Score 3

Lindt is a Swiss chocolate company that has been making chocolates since 1845. Lindt is one of the more common imported chocolates in the United States so it tends to be relatively easy to find in most well-stocked stores and specialty food stores. Chocolat Lindt Excellence is Lindt’s dark chocolate. The flavor is very rich but is not a smooth as the above two chocolates. It is a little sweeter (a bit too much if you ask me), than Valrhona and Scharffen Berger.

Lindt chocolates are more readily available. You can purchase their products at many well-stocked specialty food stores. Average cost for a 3.5oz. bar is about $2.25US.

There are many, many other chocolates out there. These three just happen to be some of our favorites. Keep in mind — if chocolate is the star of your dessert or confection be sure to use the best chocolate you can get your hands on. It truly makes a world of difference!

- Glutenfreeda